Tuning kit????

[Tom]

Well, as much as I hate to do it, a couple of notes are briving me bananas. Even though I bought new accordions to get right in tune, as has been mentioned here, even they will need attention over time.

There are no accordion repair stores where I live, and I have not had the best of luck with "professionals" in the past. (Jim D is too far away....?)

So, has anyone seen this "tuning kit" from Liberty Bellows? What do you think? Is there a better set of tools somewhere else? I promise I will practice on a beater before scratching my good ones!

Accordion and Concertina Reed Tuning Kit - Tools and Instructions to Tune Your Free Reed Instrument Melodica Harmonica Organ

Description : Accordion Tuning Kit Includes: Tuning Tools, Zipper Case , Tuning Instruction Primer Book

www.libertybellows.com

 

[knobby]

It looks expensive for the items in the case. For example I've just bought a set of needle files (6) for £5. I'll be using an engineers scribe as a scratcher which you can buy on Amazon for £5 for a set of 3. A reed lifter can be had from CGM for £4.95. I'm not too sure what some of the other bits are!
So it does look like you're paying quite a lot for the zip case and the instruction booklet.

 

[Glug]

Alternative tool list:

Feeler guage to lift reeds.
1.4mm diameter reed scratcher for £9.95 from CGM Musical Services, or similar.
600 grit diamond file for £7.30 from Eternal Tools https://www.eternaltools.com/small-diamond-files

Eternal Tools is worth a look - they've got a lot of very nice tools, most of which I don't actually need
And if I'd known about engineers scribes I would have checked them out too

 

[TomBR]

Or Charlie at CGM does this kit
http://www.cgmmusical.co.uk/CGM_Musical_Services/Reed_Tuning_Tools.html#10

It's good to have a reed scratcher but everything can be done with general purpose tools if you include a set of needle files.
Beer-can shims support reeds nicely!
You could make your own scratchers with hard steel rod mounted in a dowel handle.

 

[Tom]

Thanks, cgm looks like a good one to check out....

 

[Ventura]

omg 99 bucks !

well we always want to be precise and it is preferred to not scratch/gouge the reeds
and you have read Sebastians wood sticks with fine sandpaper glued on method in other threads

i also like the tiny sets of diamond coated bits, shaped in various ways,
then i hold them in a PinVise
which is a small hand held tool with a head that is like a tiny oldstyle Drill chuck
and i also found diamond coated Fingernail files (revlon) which
i like better than regular files but hey you can get a nice set of
tiny files from HarborFreight too

but first make sure the reed has not changed pitch because dirt is weighting it down
of course

and for the technique i swear i have to figure it out again every time i do a reed
but basically be careful never to sand away any aluminum from the embochure
and then the reed tongue, well try and imagine where it flexes when it sounds,
and removing a tiny bit of mass below the flex point lowers the pitch, and a tiny tiny
bit off the tip raises it

oh, btw it is very handy to have a super thin piece of Spring Steel that you can
slip under a reed to support it while you press with your sanding/filing whatever tool...
i lucked out finding a nice 8" long piece a little bit wider than a reed

good luck !

oh, what kind of tuning machine will you use ?

 

[knobby]

The bottom one of these picks is useful for pushing up the reed from the inside of the reed block. You can then use a craft knife blade / feeler guage slipped under the reed to stop it falling back in again.

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the advice, guys! Hmmm, I don't have a tuning machine, I was hoping to use one of the softwares (Dirk's Tuner?). I have a lot yo learn snd wonder if there are good youtubes.....

Is the "embochure" the reed holder that the reed is attached to?

 

[Ventura]

yes.. i think so anyhow !
it's what i meant

keep half an eye on Craigslist.. yolu can often find a nice used KORG tuner
on the cheap.. there is a rack mount Pro tuner on mine for 30 bucks now
(this model sold new for well over $100)
the display is a simulated meter needle like 10" across and SO easy to read

 

[debra]

As others have said that kit is rather expensive. A cheap set of small files, a good scratcher and a "pinger" are what you really need. For a beginner needing to do just minor tuning on a few reeds I recommend against trying to "pull up" inside reeds. You can take the reed block out, use a pin to push up the reed from the inside to then support it with the pinger while you file (to raise the pitch), and you can support the reed from below (with a small flat file for instance) in order to scratch the reed to lower the pitch. As a beginner you should definitely not try to tune piccolo reeds. Any reed that is too small to still have a valve should not be pushed or pulled up as this will permanently bend the reed.
The best thing is to take a course or apprenticeship with an experienced repairer... You will at some point need to tune piccolo reeds but it takes good tutoring and quite a bit of experience before you can tune piccolo reeds without ever damaging one. I am not afraid of piccolo reeds at all, except ones already damaged by other repairers...

 

[Ventura]

bent over looking closely and being careful working on a Piccolo reed and
ping
the reedtongue dissappears and i hear a faint high pitched :thud: as it lands somewhere
on the other side of the Kitchen and then i go
oops

is that what you meant, Debra ?

 

[debra]

bent over looking closely and being careful working on a Piccolo reed and
ping
the reedtongue dissappears and i hear a faint high pitched :thud: as it lands somewhere
on the other side of the Kitchen and then i go
oops

is that what you meant, Debra ?

Nothing like that happened to me (ever). The biggest issues when you do it "almost" right are dust (from scratching or filing) blocking the reed, or the voicing being off and the reed not wanting to start no matter what you try to improve the voicing, or worst of all: the reed pitch not being stable. When you are very very careful... you can avoid all these problems. But when the reed was already damaged by previous repairs the odds are against you. That's why I stock spare piccolo reeds.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Paul and Ventura! Yup, a couple weeks in Castelfidardo would be just what the doctor ordered. I haven't thought to look for dirt on those ill sounding reeds. I 'll try to make a video to show what I mean.

Ok, so, Ventura, when I come out to find that Crucianelli reed in your barn you can show me how it's done? ?

 

[Ventura]

yes !
we will snap some spare Piccolo reeds !
i have lots of spares

 

[Tom]

Sounds good! I can snap reeds with the best of them! Getting "the shot" tomorrow, hoping to get out east this year to see my family in RI...

 

[Dingo40]

A pointy needle file should make a good enough scribe substitute: two for one??

 

[Tom]

Thanks Dingo!

 

[nagant27]

A lot of times dirt/dust on the reeds is the culprit. Just give the reed the legendary ping. Also could just be the adjacent leather valves. Maybe needs to be straightened or replaced. Once you put a file to metal it’s irreversible so it’s the last thing I do.

 

[nagant27]

One more thing check the wax integrity if an older accordion.

 

[JIM D.]

If I may comment on the tool kit shown in the beginning of this thread. Some members seem to feel it's expensive. I must say I differ
with the comment "expensive". I personally feel the price of the kit is an insult to the intelligence a perspective customer. The tools in
the kit can be substituted with common tools & pieces we all have.
Read here ---

https://accordionrevival.com/ACCORDION_REPAIR1.php#voicing_reeds